I am presently re-watching the Japanese GP '07, and a conundrum hit me. We're told that brake temperatures need to be at around 600 degrees or above to work, but there is simply NO WAY that is possible in the wet. What do they do? Use different brakes/pads?

i think what they meant to say is brakes reach that certain amount of temperature....i'm not too aware of the phrase "brake temperatures need to be at around 600 degrees or above to work".....i think it's just a misquote.

A brake temperature increases by 100°C per tenth of a second for the first half-second of braking, after which it can reach up to 1200°C An average F1 car can decelerate from 100-0 km/h (62-0 mph) in about 17 meters (55 ft), an F1 car can brake from 200 km/h (124 mph) to a complete stop just 2.9 seconds, using only 65 meters (213 ft).The only configuration that allows this performance at the moment is the carbon-carbon (a short name for carbon fibre reinforced carbon), which has a great capacity to take on and dissipate heat. Brakes require a certain temperature to operate at maximum efficiency. Cold brakes do not have the stopping force of a heated disc. A carbon brake has relatively poor performance below about 400°C and has optimum braking performance above 650°C . Running the brakes at close to their optimum temperature is crucial, above 650 °C brake fade begins progressively and by 1650 °C, the stopping force is half of that experienced at the optimum temperature.